Have you heard of Beast Skills? If not your totally missing out! Take a trip over to my friend Jim's site.

http://www.beastskills.com/index.htm

Jim is seriously talented, that's plane to see. What makes him more impressive in my eyes is that he's so humble and very encouraging to be around. Jim's able to do some very impressive things, yet he can get just as excited for someone else that has just learned how to do a wall handstand!

In the few times that I've gotten to hang out and play around with body weight movements with Jim it's apparent that he's also willing to learn and listen to new ideas.

On November 9th Jim will do a one day seminar at Potomac Crossfit. We are really excited to have him be our guest! It should be loads of fun. You can register for this session at http://www.potomaccrossfit.com/events/gymnastics-seminar-with-james-bathurst/

Annie of CFHQ sent me this discription of Maneaters.....

"Start by going down into a squat with your dumbbells and jump your feet into the push up position, as you would for a burpee. Do a push up and then a row with each dumbbell. Come up to the deadlift position and perform a clean into a thruster. That makes ONE maneater! Good luck!"

They sound awesome and I can't wait to try them myself! Better yet try them with the PCF Crew! Whoot!

It's 2:30am I can't sleep, I'm just laying here with thoughts running around in my head. Maybe this will help or maybe not.
Yesterday my two half sisters re-connected with me. Desiree who is the older of the two and Holly who's 16.
Where to start...

My mother Rebbecca had me when she was 16 and it was a short lived family we had. She took off when I was age two 1/2 or so.

She went and did what she did. I was with my Grandparents and father. My father has not been much of a parent. We don't speak now, I'm assuming it's because I'm gay but I could be wrong. Honestly I don't want to waste any more time trying to figure out why my parents don't want to and never have wanted to be "parents" to me. Because it's just to much to "process" for lack of a better word. To have 3 people, father, Mother and step mother all reject you as a child/adult. Who the hell could understand that?

When I was 30 I met my Biological mother briefly and her two children, Holly and Desiree. It's not like it is on TV when people met there long lost parents and it's all shiny happy people. When I met my Mom I felt an instant connection to her. It was deep and had been the very thing I'd been longing for. Yet, that connection caused me a devastating blow, once it became clear that she would not have the interest to continue a relationship. My mother has strong Indian blood in her as I do. Which as crony as it sounds causes this feeling of connection to the earth and the spirit side of things. Meeting her confirmed why I felt those things. I'm not going to get all into percentages. Just believe me when I say it's strong in my veins and hers and I'm sure Desiree feels the same, I can't speak for Holly.

After that brief introduction it was clear that my Mother had issues. With men and addictions to mention a few. Nothing I needed to be part of my life at the time. So I let it go. I knew she was going to be too selfish to keep up any kind of a relationship with me. Yes, it hurt.
It hurt to know that I had two siblings out there that had to deal with that day and night. That I could walk away from it was a point of guilt for me.

Now 10 years later, I've been reconnected to not a parent but to Desiree and Holly two very different beautiful people.

What's keeping me up right now is a raging anger inside me. I want to scream and yell. I know people all over go through tough shit. Somehow I put out of my head what they had to live with and what they will be dealing with for years. I'm fine with having to deal with the pain and rejection related to my parents. Nothing kills me more then knowing that my younger siblings had/have to deal with those same feelings and there's nothing I can do. I also have two other 1/2 siblings Jake and Casey. Who I've grown up with . They also have to deal with the rejection and abandonment from my father. It's painful to watch. In the climax of our family disaster I was the protector for Jake and Casey. The one holding them and keeping them physically out of harms way. I've never been able to keep them from dealing with the emotional pain that comes with all of this, it troubles me.

We've all had selfish parents. Parents who have in my eyes failed miserably. This is why I don't and wont have children. I fear that these genes are in my blood and will come out against my control. I just can't risk causing pain like this. I'm OK with not having children not everyone should be a parent and it wont complete me I'm complete as is.

It's a strange feeling being the oldest of this mess. It gives me sense of responsibility. How that gets acted out, I'm unsure. Know this, I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry our parents hurt you all. If only I could have protected you all in any small way. Yet, I realize that what you've had to deal with will shape and mold you into the adults that you are and will be. Take it and use it as a map that shows you were not to go. How not to act and how not to love. I've not done the greatest job with using this map at times but it has given me a reference point.

How can I twist this whole deal back to fitness you ask? Ha don't underestimate me folks!
One of the reasons I've been drawn to Crossfit was that gives me an outlet for working through things. It provides a supportive community that I find strength in. I spent a good part of my evening slamming a D-ball on the ground and letting thoughts run around in my head until they were worked through to a point of being able to write and verbalize. Which I will continue today after class.

Ok all, meet my beautiful sister Desiree. I will talk to Holly about pictures later today.

There's something so cool about coaching people.

It pulls from deep within me. Because it's really not just about coaching an exercise. It's about giving that person the ability to tap into areas of drive and passion that they may not even know they have.
You can see it on peoples faces when you've said something to them that's going to empower them for the rest of the day, week or month. For me that's what it's all about!

"Natural athletes are visual learners".

~Coach Mark Rippetoe ~

Is it true? If so why do you think that Natural athletes learn better that way?

I learn visually for sure, but does that make me a natural athlete(or just special needs, Ha ha)?


OR

"Mediocre athletes that tried like hell to get good are the best coaches".

~Coach Mark Rippetoe ~

Is this you? Or me? Hummmm, not sure but that's one hell of a photo!!


On to another completely unrelated topic.....

Early morning and me. It's my best time. I start most of my days at 4:30am. Most of the time I enjoy the time alone and the quiet.
Yet to be honest there are times when I feel like saying, hey where is everyone? No ones on google chat no one rocketing emails back at me. My cell phone will not ring(unless I've forgotten to go to one of my jobs and Brian or my ER boss is calling....this is never good!)

When I was really young maybe like 8 or so I would get up get some cereal and go to the front yard of our house which was on the main road out of town. I would sit under the tree and wave at everyone going to work. It was mostly for my Grandfather who was and will be forever my hero. Yet, later in high school and after people would come up to me and say, "Hey, your little Jennifer Conlin who sat under the tree and waved at us on our way to work."

Well, ya see that I was cute at one point! Ha ha!

Precordial thump! What? Who the fuck does that anymore? Well apparently me.

A patient passed out during a Chest Xray, I just happened to be slacking at work and hanging with my Xray buddies.

We heard the yell for help from two X-ray students. (Now most of you don't know me. I move fast..ER fast. I know our hospital very well and I'm a responder within it. I'm known to beat most everyone to the scene. Five or six flights of stairs whatever, I will be there! And I know where everything is in the hospital equipment wise.)

Next I was standing over this forty something man. He had snoring respiration's and was very diaphoretic(sweaty)

Someone said he was there for Ventricular fibrillation known as V-fib. POP! I hit him mid chest. hard! It shocked even me. As fast as I hit him he was back, then the doctor showed up and looked at me like Holy shit Jen! Yeah, I know!
Once he was back in the ER and on our monitors we realized that he had also converted back to a normal rhythm. Sweet!

Did I save his life, no I don't think so. Well maybe....truth is we don't know.

What the hell does this have to do with Crossfit? Am I being an ego crazed Leo? Maybe.....just a little! Ha!

I've been around these kind of things for so long they've become second nature. It's like muscle memory.

As I was watching some of our Potomac Crossfit Athletes learn new movements it became clear.
Work on your movements basic and complex.

Not with huge loads all the time. Step back and go lite. Repeat and Repeat.

Watch others and make sure to know and understand your flaws. I promise in time, maybe a long time it will all come together and one day you'll just move through a movement and it will feel like second nature.

Just getting outside and moving! No task other then to enjoy the sun and open roads. That was the plan. To smile at local cyclist and runners and see the damage from the floods.

It was nice and chill, no heart rate worries or tabata sprints. Just roll!

Do you drive the people in your life nuts with your constant pushing of your limits and theirs? I do! I drive myself nuts sometimes.

Enjoy your fitness it will make the world a happier place!

Bonding in the glory of pain!

Why is it when we suffer together we bond? I'm not sure I know, but it does happen.

I could taste the blood in my mouth, the burn in my lungs. My legs weren't functioning correctly, but I knew Erica was right there with me in the glory of the pain.

Fifteen minutes and we could be done, fifteen minutes of "putting out" what we had. It draws on peoples bonding needs.

Erika and I've been working on the development of Potomac Crossfit for months.

Between being busy and my shoulder not allowing me to always jump in we've never done a WOD together. So this is why they call it Crossfit! It creates a unexplainable bond that at times allows for friendship, that may not be there otherwise. Strange? Who cares!

Erika , you rock! Next week we are on!!!

The WOD:

5 Hang power cleans@ 75#

10 Box jumps

15 mins for rounds

I think I had 9 and Erika had 10.

Athletes for a Cure is a fundraising and awareness program of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. It is designed to assist individual athletes in their quest to raise money for better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer.

Potomac Crossfit is going to be part of this challenge and so will I. We have a team that if your in the area your welcomed to join or you can support one of us in raising money to fight Prostate cancer.

FGB III is set for Saturday, September 27, 2008.
The Fight Gone Bad workout consists of five exercises, performed for one minute each, with one-minute breaks given after all exercises have been completed. This grueling five-station rotation is then repeated three times per person.

Check out our friends over at Crossfit challenge last year!


If you want to support me in raising money to fight Prostrate Cancer please follow this link http://athletes.kintera.org/crossfit08/conlin

If you would like to be on the Potomac Crossfit Team or support one of my teammates take a ride on this link http://athletes.kintera.org/crossfit08/potomaccrossfit